Canadians are famous for the amount of times they say “Sorry”. It Italy, parents are more likely to insist on teaching their children to say ‘Grazie’ (Thank you!) and its answer ‘Prego’ (You’re welcome!). These are the staples of social interactions and a good set of words to learn when you visit Italy. ‘Grazie’ is very similar to the English “Grace”, as in “Say grace”, whereas ‘Prego’ comes from the verb ‘pregare’ (To pray). It can be used also as a way to invite someone to help themselves or get seated [pointing at or offering the item or the chair], or to ask for explanations or to repeat. Being such popular words, one may assume that they have been part of the Italian language forever, but in reality both words are relatively recent acquisitions, having their first occurrences recorded in the 1800s.
Talk&Learn - Foreign Language and Tutoring Services 